Maryvale students prepare for Black Saga Competition

A group of Maryvale Elementary School students are preparing to compete against other Maryland elementary schools in the Black Saga Competition March 14 at Towson University. Black Saga is a learning competition for students in fourth through eighth grade that tests students knowledge of African-American history. This is the first time Maryvale students will compete in the state competition. /
Grace Darby writes an answer Marie-Line Lochard watches.

Which African-American played for the Philadelphia Warriors and still holds the record of 100 points scored in a single National Basketball Association game?

The answer was easy for Maryvale Elementary School fourth-graders Anthony Meka, Maisie Rocke and Michael Owens, who scrawled "Wilt Chamberlain" on their white boards.

Nafissatou "Nafi" Rouzaud, one of their coaches, told them the answer was correct.

The three Rockville students, along with three others, have worked after school since September to become experts on black history and will put their knowledge to the test Saturday in the Black Saga Competition at Towson University.

Charles M. Christian, a professor at Coppin State University in Baltimore, created the statewide competition that tests fourth- to eighth-graders' knowledge of black history through live question-and-answer rounds.

The third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at Maryvale were asked to study 800 questions about black history from before 1492 to the present, said Rouzaud, a French immersion teacher who coaches the team along with two other teachers and a parent volunteer.

The six children comprise two teams with a seventh student acting as an alternate. Twelve students are members of the club, but the third-graders are too young to participate in the competition this year, Rouzaud said.

During one of their final pre-competition practices last week, students broke up into four teams and were quizzed on what they had learned. Rouzaud, whose 10-year-old son Djibril is a team member, began by telling students to "never let go of their dreams," just like the famous black Americans they had learned about.

During a short break, Anthony said he cannot wait for the competition.

"I'm a little nervous, but I think we'll do a good job," he said.

The 9-year-old Gaithersburg resident said this is his first year on the Black Saga team.

"I wanted to do this because I thought black history was fun," Anthony said. "Also, there's so much black history I don't know and wanted to learn about."

Tammie Shepherd Archie, a Twinbrook resident who helps coach the team, said she first introduced the Black Saga program to the school last year as a way to teach students more about black culture and history. The students did not compete but instead participated in different activities, such as learning about African instruments and dress.

Archie said she is excited that the team, which includes her 9-year-old son Jared, will participate in the competition this year. Based on an in-school competition at the end of last month, which Christian judged, the students should have a good showing, she said.

"It'll be a good experience for them, and I think they'll do well," she said.